Gwalior: Court orders FIR against ex-SP, 3 cops for extortion

A Gwalior court ordered an FIR against four police officials, including a former SP, for extortion, illegal recovery, and destroying evidence in a financial dispute after they allegedly took money from the parties involved.

Court Orders FIR Against Police Officials

A special session court in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior has ordered registration of an FIR against four police officials, including a former Superintendent of Police, over allegations of extortion, illegal recovery and destruction of evidence in relation to a financial dispute case.

The matter pertains to a case registered at Thatipur police station in the district against the complainant, Anoop Singh Rana's brother and a woman identified as Chandralekha Jain over a financial dispute matter. A compromise deal was finalised between the parties involved, according to the police. After learning about the settlement issue, the investigating officer demanded money from the accused side. As per the complaint, around Rs 5.80 lakh was allegedly paid to the officer. But the officer demanded more money, following which the matter escalated further.

Extortion and Threats Escalate

Counsel for the Complainant, Advocate Ashok Prajapati told ANI, "A case related to a financial dispute was registered at Thatipur police station against the complainant's brother and a woman identified as Chandralekha Jain. The dispute reached a compromise deal with the victim side in the case. When the investigating officer came to know about the settlement, he also demanded money and it was fulfilled as well, paying Rs 5.80 lakh to the officer. Later, the officer came to know that the matter involved more than Rs 30 lakh, as the compromise amount was fixed at Rs 30 lakh."

Thereafter, on December 24, 2023, complainant Anoop Singh Rana and his brother Vikram Rana were called to the police station. Additionally, Chandralekha Jain who was also involved in the case reached the police station along with her husband, the advocate said. "Putting pressure at the police station, the police took Rs 9.50 lakh, taken from Anoop and Rs 15 lakh from Chandralekha Jain. After that, a demand of Rs 6 lakh was made further. They were also asked to pay an additional Rs 30 lakh to the complainants of the financial dispute case. When they refused, the officials allegedly threatened to implicate them in false cases and even threatened to kill. Following this, Anoop submitted a complaint at the SP office, but the then SP assigned the inquiry to Ajay Singh Sikarwar himself, who is the same officer against whom the complaint had been made," Parajapati said.

He further said that the officer pressured Anoop to withdraw the complaint application, warning that otherwise his family members would also be implicated in the case. When Anoop refused, he was sent to jail and notices were issued to his family members.

Court Uncovers Evidence Destruction

"After securing bail, Anoop approached the court with a complaint. We filed an application seeking preservation and production of CCTV footage. The police, however, informed the court that the footage was unavailable. When the court sought an explanation, it came to light that CCTV footage recorded prior to January 3, 2024 had been deleted," Advocate Prajapati said.

He added, "The court has directed registration of a case against four police officers, which include the then Gwalior SP Rajesh Kumar Chandel, the then Thatipur police station in-charge Surendra Yadav, investigating officer Ajay Singh Sikarwar and constable Santosh Verma, under sections 392, 201, and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 11 and 13 of Madhya Pradesh Dakaiti Aur Vyapharan Prabhavit Kshetra Adhiniyam." (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)